The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival serves as a mid-season Breeders' Cup, featuring nine grade 1 flat races with North America's top horses.

Among the speediest was Cogburn, who claimed a 3 1/2-length win in the Jaipur Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course, finishing 5 1/2 furlongs in a record-breaking :59.80. Equibase reports this as the fastest time ever for the distance in North America, on both turf and dirt.

Carotari previously held the 5 1/2-furlong record with a time of 1:00.21, set in a 2019 allowance turf race at Saratoga.

Cogburn's race splits were impressive: :21.33, :43.07, and :54.

"Five and a half furlongs in under a minute," said trainer Steve Asmussen. "That's basically a sixteenth of a mile faster than a fast horse."

Asmussen expressed his delight in winning for owners Clark Brewster and Corinne and Bill Heiligbrodt.

"What could be cooler than this?" Asmussen said.

Winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. was equally astonished. "So fast. I can't believe it," Ortiz remarked, noting he didn’t need to push Cogburn in the final 70 yards.

This victory marked Ortiz's third Jaipur win, following back-to-back wins with Disco Partner in 2017 and 2018.

This race was Cogburn's second graded stakes win of the year. On Kentucky Derby day at Churchill Downs, he won the Twin Spires Turf Sprint Stakes (G2T) by 2 1/4 lengths. His turf record now stands at 5-for-6, including a win in the 2023 Troy Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga.

Looking ahead, Asmussen plans to enter Cogburn in the $2 million Turf Sprint (G2T) at Kentucky Downs, followed by the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) at Del Mar on Nov. 2. With his Jaipur win, Cogburn secured an automatic spot in the Breeders' Cup through the Challenge Series: Win and You're In.

Cogburn, the favorite among 12 in the Jaipur, paid $6.30 to win.

"We were so proud of him at Churchill and, of course, in the Troy last year. But this was impressive. He just rolled down there," Brewster said.

Shakertown Stakes (G2T) winner Arzak surged from 10th to take second place. Both 5-year-old Cogburn and 6-year-old Arzak are sons of Not This Time.

Arzak narrowly beat Godolphin's Star of Mystery, a 3-year-old filly competing against older males, by a neck.

Bred in Kentucky by Bellary Bloodstock, Cogburn is out of the stakes-winning mare In a Jif, by Saintly Look. Brewster purchased Cogburn for $150,000 at the 2021 Ocala Breeders' Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, where he was consigned by Pick View.

Not This Time, the eighth-leading sire in North America in 2023, continues to rank highly this year, standing for $150,000 at Taylor Made Stallions near Nicholasville, Ky.